Self aligning pump adjuster



April 19, 1932. wA LBOROUGH 1,854,290

I SELF ALIGNING PUMP ADJUSTER Filed April 17, 1928 A Trae/v5 y Patented Apr. 19, 1932 UNrrs'mxrlazs Laarzen' SELF ALIGN ING PUMP' ADJUSTER Application mednprn 17,

lVIy inventionv relates to the oil-Well in'y dustry, and' comprises a neu7 yand novel selfaligningpump-adjusting mechanism.

In the oil-Well industry it is customary to 5 install a. pump barrel inthe Well, usually belovv the surface of the oil therein. A plunger is adapted to move in this pump barrel, this plunger being reciprocatedY by a string of sucker rods extending to the surface of the ground. A polish-rod is secured' tothe upper end'of the string of sucker rods, this polish-rod extending through a packing gland and being connected to a Walking-beam so as to be reciprocated thereby. n

The usual form of connection yincludes a saddle connected to the polish-rody and pivoted to one outer 'en'd of the WallringLb'eam. Due to thefact that the path of this `outer end is arcuate in form, it is impossible to' pull dii rectly upward on the polish-rod throughout the length of the stroke. The result is that with every pumping stroke, the polish-rod is successively bent and strained, thus, in time causing this rod to lbreak dueto afa-tigue failure. Such a failure is ordinarily spoken of as beingl caused by crystalliZat-ion. This swing action. of the upper endrof'ithe' polishrod also causes undue Wear on the stui'ngL boX. Y

It is, an object of my invention to provide animprovedi mechanism iorvv connecting a Walkingfbeam to a polish-rod.

In accomplishing'this object, I providev a connectingjmeans in the form of reins, these reins being in pivotal relation With the Walliing-beam and with a clamp holding, the

polish-rod so as to be movable in a' plane which is substantially the same as the. plane of movement of theWallring-beam.

It is an obj-ect of my invention to provide a` device for operatively connecting a' Walkingbeam and a clamp, this device being piv-v oted to both the beam andthe; clamp 'so' as to be movable in a plane substantially the samefas the plane of movement of the* Walking-beam.

I accomplish this pivotal connection betweenV the reins and the Walking-beam' by l means of a supporting member supported in i' universal-joint relationship with' the Walk- 1928; Serial No. 270,729. Y

ing-beam so as to be self-aligning with the polish-rod.

It is an object of my invention to provide a selfLa-ligning pumping mechanism in which l a' supporting member is held in universaljoint relationship with regard to thewalking-beam. f v

Another object of my invention istoprovide an adjustable-brace for'determining` the position of this supporting member.

. Still other objects' of my invention Will be made evident hereinafter, these objectsbeing realizedfin thel novel'construction o'fmy apparatus.- Y

Myinvention inaybest'be understood by re-V ferring'tothe-drawings, invvvhich-` Fig. lisan side View of my device as applied to a WalkingLb-eam'.

Fig. 2l is an' end View taken in the direction I ofthe arrow 2' of Fig. 1'. Fig; Sis sectionalfvievv'taken on the line 3 3 of-Fig. l. I

Fig. Il is a sectional v-ievv4 taken onv theline JC-470i Fig. 2i f Fig. 5 is ase'cti'onal vievv taken onthe line 5451er Fig. 2'.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and', I illustrate al Samsonpost' l0 which supports a bearingv Il at its' upper end. Journalle'd in thisbearing is ay shaft' l2 vvhichis suitably 4 securedto a vvalkingbeam 178. Thisfwaiking-beaniis' adapted to be oscilla-ted by a 'mechanisimnotshovvna The' movement of thisvvallang-beamv 1s transferred lto a polish- 1 rod 15' by a connecting- 'means 18' incorporate ing' the features of`my invention. The connecting means 1'8- issecured to an outerend 1901il the Walking#be'amf'l3.v Inasmuch as this outer endmoves through an arcuate path as the Walking-beam lf'is oscillatechitfhasherel tofore been' impossible' to reciprocate Athe polish-rod" 1'5 through Va truey verticalA path. Thus, a reversal ofV stress takes place in the outer iibers of the polish-rod'every time this rod is reciprocate'd. Such a reversal ofstress ultimately causes a fatigue failure Vof the polish-rod. The polish-rod 15 is: adapted to slide in Huid-tight relationship' With a packof the'v polish-rod causes 'undue'- Wear on this packing gland. The connecting means 1 8 of my invention is designed to eliminate these difficulties.

rThis connecting means comprises a supporting member 22 which extends through an opening 23 formed in the outer end 19 of the walking-beam. This supporting member is secured to the walking-beam by a means best indicated in Figs. 1 and 8, this means comprising a pair of blocks 25 suitably secured to the upper surface of the walking-beam. These blocks have openings 2S therein which are adapted to hold a. shaft 27 in position. This shaft 27 has a ball portion 28 spaced centrally between the blocks 25 and in alignment with the-opening 23. The supporting member 22 has a hub 29 through which an opening is formed. ln the upper end of the opening 30 is formed a socket 31 which is adapted to bear against the ball portion 28. The socket 81 is so formed as to be in surface contact with the ball portion 28 so that the supporting member 22 is supported in universal-joint relationship with the walking-beam 13.

This supporting member 22 is normally kept from pivoting about the ball portion 28 in the plane of movement of the walkingbeam by means of an adjustable brace 33. this brace extending between an upper arm 34 of the supporting member 22 and a member 35 secured to the upper face of the walkingbeam. The brace is pivoted to the arm 84 and the member 35, and has a turnbuckle 36 therein to permit an adjustment of its length. This adjustable brace is important to my invention as is also the placement of the blocks 25 and the member 35 on top of the walkingbeam. These members may be installed and correctly positioned by one man sitting on the walking-beam, the supporting member and its attached parts being supported from the derrick by an eye 87 at the top of the arm 84.

The lower end of the supporting member comprises a lower arm 40 having a retaining' member 41 formed at the lower end thereof. This retaining member is preferably cupshaped, the lower portion of this cup having a channel 4L therein, as best indicated in Fig. 4. The retaining member 41 has side walls 43 so that it may hold a body of oil. Ada-pted to pivot in the retaining member 41 is an engager 45 which rests in surface Contact with the channel 42. This engager is` substantially the same length as the interior of the retaining member so that there will be no er;- cessive end-play between the engager and the retaining cup member. The engager and the channel 42 are continually lubricated by the body of oil in this retaining` member. This engager also has outward extending arms 47 which are drilled to receive reins 48, these reins being supported from the arms 47 through nuts 49 threaded to the reins an d engaging the upper surface of these arms.

The lower end of the reins 48 have eyes 50 thereon, these eyes being adapted to be pivotally supported by a clamp 58 which, in turn, adjustably clamps the polish-rod 15. The details of the clamp 53 may bestbe understood by reference to Fig. 5. The clamp 53 comprises a body 55 having trunnions 56 extending outward therefrom. These trunnions are formed to receive the eyes 50 of the reins 48, the eyes being held in position by means of U members 58 which engage a reduced diameter portion 59 of each trunnion 56. A. Cotter-pin 60 is passed through the lower end of these U members to retain them in position. The body 55 has an engaging` surface 62 which is of the same contour as the external surface of the polish-rod 15. The polish-rod engages this surfaceand is clamped thereagainst by means of a follower 64 actuated by a screw 65. This screw is threaded through one of the trunnions 56 and has a. suitable tightening means 67 secured thereto. This tightening means may be in the kform of a hand wheel or is preferably formed with a. T-head. By operating the tightening means 67, the polish-rod is tightly clamped in the clamp 53 so that the oscillations of the walking-beam will be transferred to the polish-rod through the supportingl structure 22 and the reins 48, these reins being` utilized as a connecting means between the supporting member and the polish-rod.

The channel 42 of the retaining member 4l is formed parallel to the trunnions 56 and also substantially perpendicular to the point of movement of the walking-beam. Thus, the reins 48 may be pivoted relative to the clamp 58 and the retaining member 41 so as to move in a plane which is substantially parallel to the plane of movement of the walking-beam.

ln setting up the mechanism of my invention, the walking-beam should be lowered into its lowermost operating position, as indicated in full lines in Fig. 1. The blocks 25 should then be installed so that the supporting member 22 lies substantially in the center of the opening 28. The adjustable brace 83 is next installed and the member 35 secured in place after which the turnbuckle 36 should be adjusted to make the supporting member 22 lie substantially verticalljvv when the walking-beam is in its lowermost position. This lowermost position of the walking-beam should be such that the movement of the channel 42 of the retaining member 41 will be equally spaced above and below the horizontal center line of the bearing 11. Thus. when in its uppermost position, the mechanism will be in a position indicated by dotted lines 75 of Fig. 1. During this upward movement the channel 42 will swing` through an are and the upper ends of the reins 48 will be moved to the right, a maximum movement taking place when the channel 42 lies on the horizontal center line of the bearing 12. Due,

the reins 48 and the retaining member and clamp, the polish-rod 15 will not be unduly bent but may be reciprocated on a substantially vertical axis thus reducing the wear on the packing gland 2O and also decreasing or entirely eliminating the bending stresses on the polish-rod.

The relationship between the supporting member and the walking-beam constitutes a very important part of my invent-ion'. Ordinarily, it is necessary to very accurately align the shaft 27, or an 'equivalent shaft journalling the conventional saddle so often used, with the shaft 12 journalled in the Samson post bearings. If this is not done there will be undue wear on the shaft 27 and the sucker rods will be placed under an additional bending stress. My novel type of universal-joint connection between the supporting member and the walking-beam allows the supporting member to be self-aligned relative to the polish-rod. Furthermore, the adjustable brace 33 offers a very convenient means of adjusting the position of the supporting member and holding it firmly in place.

l claim as my invention:

1, In combination: a walking-beam; a supporting member carried in universal-joint relationship with said walking-beam; a cup member carried by said supporting member; an engager pivotally resting in said cup member; a clamp; a polish-rod secured in said Clamp; and reins connecting said engager and said clamp.

2. In combination: a Walking-beam blocks mounted on the upper end of said walkingbeam; a shaft mounted in said blocks, said shaft having a ball portion thereon; a supporting member; a socket on said supporting member, said socket engaging said ball portion; a cup member carried by said supporting member an engager pivotally resting in said cup member; a clamp; a polish-rod secured in said clamp; and means connecting said engager and said clamp.

3. In combination: a walking-beam; blocks mounted on the upper end of said walkingbeam; a shaft mounted in said blocks, said shaft having a ball portion thereon; a supporting member; a socket on said supporting member, said socket engaging said ball portion; an adjustable brace extending between said supporting member and the upper side of said walking-beam; a cup member carried by said supporting member; an engager pivotally resting in said cup member; a clamp; a polish-rod secured in saidclamp; and means connecting said engager and said clamp.

In testimony whereof,` I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles, California, this 11th day of April, 1928.

VVILLARD L. BOROUGH. 

